The Truth Hurts

46 │slow down

"Well, here we are." Jesse says, peering out the windshield as he pulls his battered pickup truck up to the curb in front of Kris' house. It's just as humble and plain on the outside as it is indoors. Shrubs border the small garden to the right of the front deck. Kris and her mother had added it a few weeks after moving in, but ever since Daniel's accident neither one of them have cared to water the plants nor trim the bushes. The leaves, as well as the various herbs once sowed apart in perfect measurements, are as shriveled and dead as her family. Weeds devour what's left of the withering plants in what can be seen through the overgrown grass.

Kris looks over at him, for once not thinking about these things, and smirks. Ever since the first time he had picked her up, he never again needed to ask her for directions on how to get there or back. Being directionally challenged sometimes, she can't help but find it rather impressive. "Thanks. I guess I should—"

She reaches for the handle when the door suddenly locks.

He lifts his finger from the lock button before reaching down to the floorboard. "I have something for you."

On guard, especially after talking to Taylor and hearing what all happened earlier tonight, her head spins around just as he pulls up what appears to be a gift bag. The thin plastic lining on the bag illuminates a bright, nauseating green as frayed red tissue paper overflows from the top.

"Is it Christmas?" She laughs, referring to the color scheme.

"No." His eyes narrow as he holds it out for her. "They were low on stock, okay? It was either this or a Happy Birthday bag."

Hesitant, she slowly reaches for it. "What is this?"

"Open it and find out."

"I don't like surprises." She says, acting as if a rattlesnake is about to pop out of the bag as she holds it far away from her face.

Jesse lifts his eyebrows, his voice cocky. "You liked the studio."

She glares at him as she sets it on her lap and digs through the tissue paper. He got her there. Suddenly, her fingers graze against a laminated cardboard corner of a thin box and she grabs it, pulling it from the bag. Her jaw nearly drops as she turns the box over to see that it contains a high definition webcam with 1080p. At least twenty times better than the ancient brick she has been clipping onto her laptop for the past few months.

He leans over the console, finding her silence as a sign of disappointment. "Do you like it?"

"What is this?" She repeats, still staring down at the camera. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees how close he is leaning and is unsure whether or not it is leading to a kiss.

"It's a webcam..." His usual sarcasm seeps in. That didn't take long. "You see, you plug it into your computer and turn it on. Then you—"

"This was a mistake." She gently slides the webcam into the gift bag and hands it back to him.

He gazes at the bag but doesn't take it from her hand. "Is it... the brand? When I was up there, I was debating on getting the Sony one instead."

She shakes her head, making little to no eye contact with him. "No. That's not it. I think tonight was a mistake."

"How so?" He sits back in his chair, making it clear that he's not going to take the gift back. She sets it on the console and turns to look out the window. "We made a killer EP in just one night. Hell, I can probably get it ready to send out tomorrow."

"It's not that."

"Did I do something wrong?"

Kris quickly turns to him, sighing. "No. It's just... I think we jumped into this too fast. The music. The kiss. The date. Everything."

Cocking an eyebrow, a slight smirk emerges on his face. "Be honest. Am I a bad kisser?"

"No!" She laughs nervously, an all-too-familiar feeling of self-consciousness overcoming her. "It's me. I haven't dated someone in a while. That is, if you would even consider what my last boyfriend and I had a 'relationship'. So I guess the dating experience is kinda new to me. Not to mention, I'm still adjusting with the whole music thing. And with everything else going on, I don't know..."

"No worries, it's cool." He continues to smile. If he's upset, he's masking it well. He grabs the gift bag and hands it to her again. "Here. Take it."

"No. I can't."

"But as your manager, I'd like you to have it." He sways the bag from his fingers. "Come on, your viewers deserve to hear the best quality of your voice."

Another thing she's not used to, perhaps the cherry on top that made her finally implode, is having things handed to her in life. She's always felt like every little thing she has took her one hell of a struggle to earn. Uneasy, she reaches out to take the bag from his hand. "Thanks."

"Anytime." He glances down at the steering wheel, taking a brief moment to collect his thoughts, before turning back to face her. "Look, I get it. I see where you're coming from. Everything is happening so suddenly and it's a lot to take in. And no, I'm not referring to the music. We can take it slow."

Jesse reaches over and grabs her hand. Without resisting, she squeezes tightly into his palm as she stares back into his solemn eyes.

"You should probably get some rest." Contrary to what he is saying, his grip tightens on her hand as he clearly isn't ready to let her go. "After all that work tonight, I'm sure you're exhausted."

She squeezes his palm again as she playfully rolls her eyes. "Yeah, going on a date with you is so tiring."

"Ha. Ha." Sticking out his tongue, he unlocks the door with his left hand. She slips her hand out from his grip before opening the door, climbing out of the small truck. He leans back over the console, shooting her his trademark menacing smile. "Night, Kris."

"Goodnight." She says, smiling back at him as she swings the door shut.

Sitting there with the truck still in park, he watches as she cuts through her yard, perhaps crossing on what used to be a sidewalk, and to her front door. He makes sure that she gets inside before grabbing the gear and shifting it into drive.

From inside her house, Kris peeks through a small slit in the opening of the curtain and watches as he drives away. She turns around and leans against the window, pulling the gift bag into her chest as if it were him, and smiles.

♫ ᴀsʜᴇs ᴀɴᴅ ᴡɪɴᴇ / ᴀ ғɪɴᴇ ғʀᴇɴᴢʏ ♫